Sheikh Muqbil: The Harms of NOT Praying in your Shoes...

Ash-Shaykh, Al-Allaamah, Al-Imaam, Muqbi bin Haadi Al-Waadi’ee (رحمه الله) has a very good chapter in his beneficial book ‘Shar’iyatus-Salaah Fiin-Ni’aal’ (The Legality of Performing The Prayer in shoes) pages 24-26, where he (رحمه الله) speaks about the harms of a person not acting upon this Sunnah and abandoning it. So he then speaks about what he has witnessed and heard about what happened to those who wanted to act upon this Sunnah:

“The Harms of Abandoning Praying in the Shoes

Firstly, from the greatest of harms of leaving off performing the prayer in shoes is that the majority of Muslims have become ignorant of this Sunnah and they see that the one who prays in his shoes has committed a great crime…

And I have heard whilst I am in Yemen of a keeper of Masjid saying: “A man who was once in Saudi and then returned to his country, when he wanted to enter the Masjid I said to him: ‘By Allaah, if you enter the Masjid with your shoes I will break your leg!’”

And I have seen in the Haram of Makkah underneath the microphone, a group of people who all came together against one man refuting him because of his prayer in shoes, so one of them then said intending the one praying in his shoes: “He’s a devil!!”…

And I have seen whilst being in ‘Beeshah’ a man who apparently has the signs of good and righteousness upon him refuting somebody who is praying in their shoes, so it was said to him: ‘It is Sunnah’, so he then said: ‘ I seek refuge with Allaah from this Sunnah!’…

And that which is greater than all of that mentioned, is that some of our brothers for the sake of Allaah wanted to act upon this Sunnah in the Haram of Madinah, so the people severely refuted him. (Footnote from the book Pg: 25: He was taken to the office of the Haram and a pledge was taken from him that he will not pray in his shoes.)

And all of this is because of the lack of action done by the people of knowledge. If the people of knowledge were to act upon this Sunnah, then there would be no need to gather all of these ahadith and spread it between the people.

And another reason for all of this, is the negligence of the people with regards to the books of the Sunnah, if they only returned back to the books of Sunnah then they would have no doubts regarding the legality of performing the prayer in the shoes and that it is a Sunnah which has been ordered to be acted upon.

Secondly, from the harms of leaving off praying in the shoes, is that those who are praying, they all leave their shoes in a place, which possibly causes the rows to get crooked instead of being straight as ordered. We have certainly witnessed the crookedness of the rows in the Haram of Makkah because of the piling of shoes…

Thirdly, from the harms also is that a lot of Muslims leave off looking at their shoes at the doors of the Masjid, because they do not intend to pray in them due to some dirt on them. So, he then places his shoes in the Masjid, the dirt drops inside Masjid and all of this is due to abandoning the Sunnah which is: To look at the shoes by the door of the Masjid and wipe off the dirt with sand if there is any dirt on it.

Fourthly, that the one who is praying can be afraid of his shoes being stolen, so he gets disturbed whilst in prayer. This disturbance will eliminates his khushoo’ and al-khushoo’ is the essence of the prayer as Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى said:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

“Indeed the believers are successful, those that in their prayer submit humbly..”  

(Al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2)

Summarized and translated by: Younus bin Muhammad As-Somaalee

{Edited by Umm Hasna for clarity}

 Ref: http://aloloomenglish.net/vb/showthread.php?483-Shaykh-Muqbil-The-Harms-of-NOT-Praying-in-Your-Shoes&p=846#post846